


Acceptance

by CityEscape4



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Series, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Gen, it's a take of episode 111 (or 38 of Zexal II) from Astral's perspective, old fic, relocated from tumblr, this could be seen as keyshipping if you really wanted i guess, this was actually the first zexal fic i ever did
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 12:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14852711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CityEscape4/pseuds/CityEscape4
Summary: If you'd asked him long, long ago, Astral would have never admitted he was afraid to die.





	Acceptance

If you ask asked him long, long ago, Astral wouldn’t have let himself admit that he was afraid to die.

But time passes. It changes you. New encounters change you. _People_ change you. And for the Messenger of the Astral World, nothing changed him more than meeting Yuma. Through Yuma, Astral gained an insight towards humanity, and not simply human beings collectively, but humaneness, _humanity_ in general.

He also learned loyalty, love, emotion. And with those, he regrettably learned how felt to feel betrayed. To be lied to. To feel like the bond you had with a person had been walked all over and _not given a second thought._ He used to be a ‘pure’ being, with no true understanding of death or deceit or true evil, until he met Yuma.

Admittedly, after the internal corruption brought on by Vector revealing he had been posing as Rei Shingetsu, Astral was hesitant to truly trust Yuma again. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to, he was just unsure. He had felt true pain and heartbreak for the first time - something an Astral being wasn’t intended to _ever_ comprehend - and he didn’t want to feel that way again, not ever. But as time went by, and he and Yuma were working together past that fateful day on Saragasso.

If you had asked him then, Astral would have still admitted to himself the thought of dying intimidated him, but he would have pushed the thought to the back of his head, for his fears and insecurites were nothing now, especially with the rising threat of the Barians.

Being summoned to another dimension by Black Mist was the last thing Astral expected to happen. He had been so focused on the Over-Hundred Numbers, on the Barian’s controlling people, that Black Mist had been the last thing on his mind. And the duel that transpired was equally so.

But thankfully, the bond that he and Yuma shared, -now rekindled, though not exactly what it once was- had brought them through to victory in this duel. Though they were drained, very drained, but what could be expected from a duel with Black Mist in this new form of his?

“They won!” Astral could hear Kotori cheer. “Zexal… Astral and Yuma _won!”_

“We won?” Yuma asked inside Zexal’s mind, both he and Astral breathing heavily, Zexal mimicking such. They were on their knees, their sight blurring just ever so slightly.

“Yeah.” Astral replied, his voice sounding just as worn and ragged as Yuma’s. “It’s our victory.”

He could hear a breathy laugh from Yuma, the other’s relief and happiness coming in clear through the wear. “We did it, Astral!”

A half-hearted chuckle was Yuma’s only reply. “Can you stand, Yuma?”

“Of course, I–”

“ASTRAL!”

Black Mist’s voice tore through the air, everyone, Shark and Kaito included, freezing as they were, eyes wide with worry. Black Mist was standing once more, anger eminating from his very being. “If you’re going to win, I’ll just throw myself back into your body!” And he rose into the sky, turning into pure energy, swirling dark and black and lethal. Like a lightning bolt, he struck down, aiming for Zexal’s heart.

Quickly realizing the gravity of the situation, Astral cried out, “Yuma!” He forced the two of them out of Zexal, all but shoving Yuma to the ground, then all he felt was pain.

He heard Yuma cry his name, along with the founds of feet coming closer, but Astral couldn’t allow that. “Stay back!” He managed to choke out, his hands curling into fists and pulling at his chest, as if that could somehow expunge Black Mist from his body. “You mustn’t come near!”

Pained cries left Astral’s mouth, sounds he’d never imagined himself making falling past his lips.

“I am a god!” He could hear Black Mist in his head. “I will erase _**everything!**_ You, your friends, your memories, _everything!”_

Again, the gravity of the situation seemed to fall on Astral, practically crushing him. ‘If this continues…’ He thought. Heterochromatic eyes fell to Yuma, the teen looking worried, scared, but whether it was because of Black Mist, or because Astral was in pain, Astral didn’t know. 'Yuma…’

If you had asked him at that moment, Astral would have told you…

He was no longer afraid of dying. At least, now that he knew he had something worth dying _for._

The next few moments went by in practically a blur. He did everything in his power to purge Black Mist from him, feeling himself weaken and weaken into a state he’d never forced himself to reach ever before. He was about to give into the darkness that would just ease away all the pain, when Astral heard him.

“Astral?! Hey, Astral!!”

Weakly, he opened his eyes, seeing Yuma before him, a smile on the teen’s face. “Yuma. So you’re safe…”

“You idiot!” Yuma said, relief obvious through the wide smile on his face. “That was too reckless! Why did you undo Zexal!?”

“I didn’t want you to be dragged into this.”

“Why not?” Yuma asked with a slight cock of his head, the tone in his voice becoming a bit more serious. “We… We’re friends, aren’t we?”

At the word, Astral felt a bit more at ease. “Friends, ah? Yes… I did it because you’re an irreplaceable friend.” He could see the worry overcome Yuma’s face, but regardless, he continued. “Because of you, I’ve been through so many things, over and over. Learning how to cherish those you call friends… Having the heart to believe in them…” He could feel himself slipping… he didn’t have much longer.

“We part ways here, Yuma.”

“Huh?”

Astral could hear the slight quiver in Yuma’s voice, and once again, he continued regardless. “I entrust the Numbers to you.”

“W-Why? What do you mean?” The tears began to well up in Yuma’s eyes, though hadn’t made any move to fall. “Stop joking around!” Yuma shook his head viciously, like this was a bad dream and if he could just manage to wake himself up… “What do you mean we’re parting ways?! I don’t want to!” It was then the tears began spilling over. “I can’t part with you!”

His time was up. Astral could feel himself dissolving, his lower half no longer able to be felt. “Wait…! Astral! ASTRAL!”

Astral could no longer find words to say. Using his remaining strength, he reached out his hand. Yuma had been able to touch him for a little while now. Maybe, if he could just touch him _one last time…_

“ _Please!_ Don’t go anywhere!” Yuma reached out desperately, doing all he could to refrain from sobbing. _**“Astral!”**_

“Yuma…” He managed to get the boy’s name out, pausing momentarily before speaking one last time. 

_“Thank you.”_

Before their fingers could meet, he was gone, the last thing Astral seeing before black flooded his vision was Yuma’s tearstained face, the teen crying out for him.

If you could have asked him at that point, Astral would have said that the fear of death no longer existed in his mind. He knew he made the right choice, for his partner - the one he was honored to call his friend - Yuma, was safe. He gave his life to protect him, and he had no regrets.


End file.
